Tube forming and sheathing apparatus.



F. N. PALMER. TUBE FORMING AND SHEATHING APPARATUS. APPLIOATION FILED 001. 22, 1910. r

1,080,925, Patented Dec. 9, 1913.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

A n m 3 INA! P. N. PALMER. TUBE FORMING AND SHEATHING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED 001. 22, 1910.

1, 080,925 Patented Dec. 9, 1913.

6 SHEETSSHEBT 2.

F. N. PALMER.. TUBE FORMING AND SHEATHING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED OGT..22, 1910.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

K 60 wiry-i" 3 15 6% @z/ d M fir. /K/g 953% F. N. PALMER. TUBE FORMING AND SHEATHING APPARATUS.

APPLIOATION FILED OCT. 22, 1910.

sg gggx Patented Dec. 9, 1913.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

F. N. PALMER. TUBE FORMING AND SHEATHING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 22, 1910.

Patented Dec. 9, 1913.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

mm xx fimenz finned? nflezzmer,

P. N. PALMER. TUBE FORMING AND SHEATHING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 22, 1910.

Patented Dec. 9, 1913.

- pnrrn FRANCIS N. yALMER, OF

KENOSHA, WISQONQI-N.

TUBE FORMING AND SHEATHING APPARATUS.

i ,08th925.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 9, 1913.

Application filed October 29, 1910- man No. 588, 25.

To all whom it. may concern:

Be it known that l, FnANcls N. Panama, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kenosha, in the county of Kenosha and State of Wisconsin, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Tube Forming and Sheathing Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates particularly to tubeforming and sheathing apparatus, useful. for instance, in producing brass-covered steel tubes for bed-cmistruction purposes.

My primary object is to provide improved means of the character indicated which will operate in an improved manner to form and jacket tubing, producing a satisfactory article.

The invention is particularly useful in forming a tube from sheet metal, such as sheet steel, and covering the tubing with a brass sheath, formed from a brass ribbon and embodying a lock-seam joint.

My invention facilitates and cheape-ns the manufacture of sheathed tubing of this character, and at the same time-produces an improved article in which the lock-seam is mashed or embedded in a preparatorily 'l'ormtd external groove in the steel tubing. resulting in the prothrction of an article in which the seam of the sheath is scm'ccly visible, in which the sheath is in close contactat all points with the tube which itc-uvelops. in which the sheath is uninjured by the applying operatiomand in which the productclosely resembles a seamless brass tube.

.\v further objectis to provide an improved method of producing sheathed tubes. whereby the sheathing may be applied without injury to it, the use of excessive pressure being obviated, and whereby an improved product results.

The present invention constitutes an improvement on the invention set forth in my application No. 549,826, filed March 17, 19-10.

The present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 represents a broken side elevational view of my improved apparatus, showing mechanism serving to form a tube from a strip of sheet metal, such as sheet steel, and provide said tube with an external longitudinal groove; Fi 2, an enlarged broken section taken as lIlt icated at line 2. of Fig. 1, and showing the groove-forming rolls employed; Fig. 3, a broken horizontal section taken as indicated at line 3 of Fig. 2 and showing a detail of the adjustment of the upper groove-forming roll; Fig. 4, a broken section taken as indicated at line .4. of Fig. 2, Fig. 5., a broken side elevational view of the apparatus showing a mechanism whereby a strip of sheathing material, such as sheet brass, is provided with lateral locking-tongues, then curved to envelop the steel tube and bring said tonguesv into interlocking relation and finally mash the seam into the groove formed in the steel tube, Fig. 5 showing also a portion of the frame shown in Fig. 1 anda portion of the mechanism shown in Fig. 7 Fig. 6, a plan view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 5; Fig. 7, a broken side elevational view of the apparatus showing the drawing mechanism employed to the sheathing strip and tube through the dies; F ig. 8, a broken transverse section taken as indicated at line 8 of Figs. 6 and 9, and showing the tubeguiding means employed; Fig. 9, a broken longitudinal section taken as indicated atline 5) of Fig. 8; Fig. 10. a broken sectional view taken as indicated at line 10 of Fig. 6: Fig. ll, a broken sectional view taken as indicated at line ll of Fig. 6; 12, an enlarged broken sectional view of the product in the course of formation, showing the manner in which the lock-seam enters. the external groove of the steel tube: Fig. 13, a similar view showing the product after the lock-seam has been mashed or pressed into the groove; and Fi 14, an enlarged broken longitudinal section taken as indicated at line 14. of Fig. 6, showing the finishing-dies which mash the lock-seam and im art true cylindrical form to the product.

n the construction illustrated, which represents the preferred embodiment of the invention, A. represents the frame of my improved apparatus; B, mechanism for forming a tube from sheet metal and providing said tube with an external groove; C, mechanism for forming and applying a sheath or jacket having a lock-seam; and D, mechanism for drawing the tubing through the 106 Thclframe A may be of any suitable construction. The mechanism B comprlses preliminary tube-forming members or rolls 1, 2, 3 and 4; finishing tube-forming rolls 5; and an interposed pair of groove-forming rolls 6. The rolls of the mechanism B are preferably in alined pairs, so that the sheet metal strip 7 which serves to form the steel tube 8 may be fed through said rolls in a straight course and formed with a groove. during the passage through said rolls. The tube-forming rolls of the mechanism B are preferably geared together (gearing not shown) and controlled by a rock-shaft 9 which extends to the mechanism C, where it is equipped with a footlever 10. The manner of gearing and controlling the tube-forming rolls, such as are employed in the mechanism B, is well understood in the art and need not be illustrated or explained in detail herein.

The groove-forming rolls 6 are interposed between the last pair t of the preliminary tube-forming rolls and the pair of finishing tube-forming rolls 5. The groove-forming rolls comprise an upper roll 11 provided with a central circumferential flange 12, and

-a lower roll 13 provided with a central circumferential groove 14. The preliminary tube-formingrolls are so formed and arranged as to form the tube 8 in approximately the form shown in Fig.2, with the edge-portions of the split tube separated so as to loosely embrace the sides of the lower groove-forming roll 13. The upper grooveforming roll 11 is mounted in a vertically adjustable slide, or head, 15, mounted in a guide 16 carried by the frame A. The guide 16 is equipped with a bracket 17 fitted with an adjustable screw 18, which has a head 19- entered in a slot 20 with which the slide 15 is provided. The slide maybe raised or lowered by means of the screw 18, as will be readily understood. By means of the rolls 11 and 13, the tubular member 8 may have a longitudinal groove 8 formed therein, and as the tubular member passes through the finishing tube-forming rolls 5, the tubular formation of the member is completed, the edge-portions of the split tube being brought together at this stage. 7

The mechanism C comprises means 0 for delivering a strip of sheathing material; hanging-dies C for forming locking-tongues at the lateral edges of the sheathing-strip as it is drawn through the dies; a tube-guide C adapted to guide the steel tube 8 as it passes through the machine and maintain said tube against both angular and lateral displacement; a die 0 adapted to curve the lateral edge-portions of the flanged sheathing-strip upwardly; an elongated flaring tubular die C adapted to impart tubular formation to the sheathing-strip; a device C serving to regulate the conformation of the exit-end of the tube-shaping die C", whereby the locking-tongues of the sheathingstrip will be properly guided into interlocking relation; and finishing-dies C serving, in conjunction with the devices C and C to bring the locking-tongues into interlock ing relation and mash the seam into gltudmal groove 8.

The mechanism C includes a roll 21 from the lonwhich the sheathing-strip is fed; a roll 22 .and a roll 25 mounted on a pivotally supported arm 26 and disposed betwen the rolls .22 and 23, the arm 26 being equipped with a tension-spring 27. Some distance in the rear of the roll 23 is a guide 28 in the form of an open fiat trough and having removable pins 29 between which and the bottom of the guide 28 the sheathing-strip 30 is adapted to pass.

The hanging-dies C may be of substantially the construction shown in my abovementioned application, and are adapted to operate on the lateral edge-portions of the sheathing-strip, or brass ribbon, 30, to form a simple locking-tongue, or flange, 31 (Figs. 8 andv 12) at one edge and adovetail locking-member 32 at the other edge of the sheathing-strip. It is unnecessary to show and describe the dies C in detail, but it is sufiicient to say that said locking-tongues are formed at the lateral edges of the sheathing-strip, while the sheathing-strip is in the open or approximately flat condition, during the passage of the strip through said dies C The device C comprises a chair, or ring, 33 secured to the bed-plate 34 of the frame and a rotatable bushing, or guidemember, 35 mounted in the member 33 and secured with relation thereto by a set-screw 36 which passes through the ring-portion of the member 33 and impinges at its inner end against the tubular portion of the member 35. Said member 35 is provided at one end with an external flange 37 equipped with a stem or handle 38 by means of which angular adjustment of the bushing 35 may be made when the set-screw 36 is loosened. The member 35 is provided interiorly at its upper portion with a longitudinal groove which receives a key or spline 39 which projects beyond the inner wall of the bushing and enters the groove 8 of the steel tube 8, thus providing against rotationor angular displacement of the tube during its passage through the machine and while the sheathing-strip is being applied. The thin sheathing-strip 30, before entering the flangingdies C passes beneath a roll as and thence over a roll .1 immediately in the rear thereof (Figs. 6 and 9), thus following a tortuous path, so that the strip is effectually prerented from crinkling or buckling in the passage through said dies. Thus, the rolls serve the function of stiffening rolls for the sheathing-strip.

The die, or guide, C (Figs. 9 and 10) preferably comprises a spacing-bar 4O fitted with adjusting-screws 41 which rest upon the bed-plate 34: and adjustable die-sections 42 mounted on the end-portions of the spacing-bar 40. To permit adjustment of the die-sections 42. they are provided with forwardly projecting cap-screws 43 which pass through longitudinal. slots 44 in the bar 40. By this means, the die-sections 42 may be adjusted toward or away from each other to correspond with the width of the sheathing-stri.) being used. Each die 42 comprises a die-block 45 having a curved wall 46; and a die-block 47 removably mounted on the die-block 4.) by means of a cap-screw 48. The die-blocks 47 are provided with heads. or bearing-portions, 49 adapted to co-act with the curved portions 46 of the die-blocks 45 to properly guide and shape the lateral portions of the flanged sheathing-strip. As appears from Figs. 6 and 9. the die is located in front of studs 50 which rise from the bed-plate 34. so that. the die can float or adjust itself on the bedplate.

The tube-guiding member C has its bushing 35 just in the rear of and above the dies C and as appears from Fig. 9, the sheathing-strip 30 passes on an incline from the dies C to the tube-shaping die C, the die C adjusting itself to this inclination.

The die C" preferably comprises a split tubular member formed from sheet metal and having an enlarged front. end cut away at its upper front. portion, as indicated at. 51. The front end portion of the member C is secured to a crescent-shaped chair, or support, 52 which is mounted on the bedplate 34. The device C comprises a ring 53 into which the rear end-portion of the member C extends. The ring 53 is equipped with radially-extending set-screws 54 whose inner ends bear upon the rear portion of the split flaring tubular member C, as shown in Fig. 11. One edge 55 of the rear portion of said split-member C is depressed below the other edge 56 of said member. The edge-portion 5:) is adapted to engage the lateral portion of the sheathing-strip which is equipped with the dovetail lockingtongue 32, and the edge-portion 56 is adapt.- cd to engage the other edge-portion of the sheathing-strip. so that as the tubular sheath passes through the die C and thence to the finishing-die C the locking-tongue 31 is moved across or past the corresponding flange of the dovetail locking-member 32 into the position shown in Fig. 12, and then, as the product passes through the finishingdies C the same is mashed or forced into the preparatorily formed groove 8*, so that the product is finished as shown in Fig. 13.

The frame A is provided in the rear of the device C with a chair, or castin 57 having a transverse wall provided wit an opening 58 through which the finished prodnet is adapted to pass. The mashingor finishin dies C" are located in front of and ad acent to the chair 57, and the final one of the dies (1 is centered by a setscrew 59 carried by a plate 60 mounted on the chair 57. In front of the chair 57 the frame sup orts a bed-plate (31 upon which rests a wet ge-member 62 which extends beneath the ring 53 of the device C.

The mechanism D, shown in Fig. 7, is of the usual construction employed for this class of work, and need not be illustrated and described in detail. It is sufficientto say that it is equipped with a carriage 63 provided witha drawing-head ($4 adapted to grasp the end of the product, the carriage being adapted to be moved by a chain 65 in the usual manner. The movement of the chain, and hence of the carriage, is controlled by a lever 66 having a foot-pedal 67 conveniently located with relation to the mechanism C.

In the operation of the machine, the tubeforming rolls of the mechanism B operate to form and feed the steel tube through the machine, and after the introduction of the sheathing-strip, the sheathing-strip and tube are grappled by the mechanism D, which operates to draw the sheathing-strip and aid in drawing the tube through the machine. In the process of forming the tube 8, the mechanism B operates to form the external groove 8 in the tube, and during the progress of the tube through the machine the tube. is maintained in proper angular adjustment, so that after the locking-tongues are formed on the sheathingstrip and brought to the interlocking position, the same will lie in such relation to the groove 8 of the tube as to properly enter said groove and be mashed or embedded therein during the progress through the finishing-dies C liy this expedient, it is possible to apply the sheath or acket and produce a smooth exterior surface of cylindrical form and render the seam practically invisible, without injury to the sheath and without placing undue strain upon the machine.

Owing to the fact that the tongue-forming dies operate to form the locking-tongues while the sheathing-strip is in the open or substantially flat condition, and the sheathing-strip is afterward curved about the steel tube and the locking-tongues brought into interlocking engagement at a point removed top from the place of formation of the lockingtongues, it is possible to watch the operationof the machine and detect and remedy defects with facility. Also, the train upon the dies is greatly lessened, the life of the apparatus increased, and by reason of the facile working of the apparatus, small-gage sheathing material may be employed. Also,

for the reasons given, the machine has a large capacity or output, and it will be understood that the cost of' production of sheathed tubing is greatly reduced.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only, and no undue limitation should be understood therefrom, but the appended claims should be construed as broadly as permissible in view of the prior art.

What I regard as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, .is-

1. In apparatus of the character set forth, the combination with mechanism for forming an externally grooved tube, of mechanism for forming locking-tongues at the lateral edges of a sheathing-strip and forming the sheathing-strip about said tube, bringing said tongues into interlocking engagement and forcing the seam thus formed into the groove in said tube.

2. In apparatus of the character set forth, the combination with mechanism for form ing an externally grooved tube, of mechanism for forming locking-tongues at the lateral edges of a sheathing-strip, guiding means for said tube, including a device entering the groove of said tube, means for forming locking-tonguesat the lateral edges of the sheathing-strip, means for bending said strip into tubular form about said tube and bringing said tongues into interlocking engagement at the groove in said tube, and

means for mashing the seam into said groove.

3. In apparatus of the character set forth, the combination with mechanism for forming a strip of sheet-metal into tubular form and providing an external groove therein, of means entering said groove to maintain the tube against angular displacement, and means for forming an enveloping jacket with interlocking-tongues and applying said jacket with the seam thereof compressed into said groove.

4:. In apparatus of the character set forth, the combination with tube-forming rolls and grooving rolls associated therewith and adapted to form a strip of sheet metal into a tube having an external groove, or means for drawing a sheathing-strip, forming lockingtongues thereon and bringing said tongues into interlocking engagement over said groove, and means for mashing the seam thus formed into said groove.

5. In apparatus of the character set forth, the combination with preliminary tube-shaping rolls and finishing-rolls, of groove-forming rolls interposed between said first-named and said second-named rolls, means adapted to enter the groove of the tube to be sheathed to maintain the tube in proper angular relation, tongue-forming dies adapted to form locking-tongues at the lateral edges of a sheathing-strip passing therethrough, means for forming the sheathing-strip about the tube and bringing said tongues into interlocking relation adjacent the groove in said tube, and means for mashing the seam into said groove.

6. In apparatus of the character set forth,

7. In apparatus of the 7 character set forth, the combination of a tube-guide provided with an adjustable member adapted to enter the grooves of a tube fed through said guide, and means for forming lockingtongues at the lateral edges of a sheathingst-rip, enveloping said sheathing-strip about said tube with the seam at the groove therein and mashing said seam into said groove.

8. In apparatus of the character set forth, the combination of flanging-dies adapted to form locking-tongues at the lateral edges of a sheathing-strip, a tube-guide adjacent said fianging-dies and equipped with a member adapted to project into a groove in the tube to be sheathed as it is fed through said guide, means for forming the tongueequipped sheathing-strip about the tube and bringing the locking-tongues into interlocking relation adjacent said groove, and finishing-dies serving to mash the seam into said groove.

9. In apparatus of the character set forth, the combination of fianging-dies adapted to form locking-tongues at the lateral edges of a sheathing-strip while said strip is in a substantially flat condition, a tube-guide in the rear of said flanging-dies, means in an upper die-section having a head adapted to engage the upper surface of the edgeportion of the strip.

11. In apparatus of the character set forth, the combination with means for guiding a tube to be sheathed, of means for forminglateral locking-tongues at the edges of a sheathing-strip, and means located in the rear thereof for curving, the strip about said tube tobring the edge-portions thereof together and the lockingtongues to interlocking position, comprising a flaring split tubular member-and a member embracing the rear end thereof and equipped with adjusting-screws adapted to change the conformationof the rear end of said split tubular member.

12. In apparatus of the character set forth, the combination of mechanism for forming a tube from a strip of sheet-metal and providing said strip with a longitudinal groove, mechanism in the rear thereof for forming locking-tongues at the lateral edges of a sheathing-strip, curving said sheathing-strip about the tube and bringing the locking-tongues into interlocking relation and mashing the seam in said groove, and means inthe rear of said last-named mechanism for drawing the product through the machine.

13. In apparatus of the character set forth, the combination of tube-guiding means, Hanging dies located adjacent thereto and adapted to form locking-tongues at the lateral edges of a sheathing-strip, means for forming the sheathing-strip about the tube and bringing the locking-tongues thereof into interlocking relation, stiffeningrolls located in advance of and adjacent to said flange-forming dies and adapted to guide the sheathing-strip in a tortuous path at the entrance to said dies, a vat equipped with a roll adapted to apply lubricant to the sheathing-strip, and a supply-roll from which the sheathing-strip passes to the roll in said vat.

14. In apparatus of the character 'set forth. the combination with flanging dies adapted to form locking-tongues at the lateral edges of a sheathing-strip, of a tubeguiding device located adjacent said dies, comprising a support, a bushing angularly adjustable on said support, and a spline carried by said bushing and adapted to enter a groove in the tube to be sheathed.

15. In apparatus of the character set forth, the combination with flanging dies adapted to form locking-tongues at the lateral edges of the sheathing-strip while in open condition, of a tube-guide comprising a support having an annular member, a bushing rotatably mounted in said annular member and equipped interiorly with a spline, and means for fixing the bushing in fixed angular relation to the support.

FRANCIS N. PALMER.

'In presence of- A. U. THORIEN, R. A. SCHAEFER. 

